From Real Madrid to Lionel Messi and Stoke City, here are seven footballing feats or records that we just can’t see being matched or toppled.
Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona leaves on the pitch the FIFA Ballon d’Or trophy prior to the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Camp Nou on January 17, 2016
“I always thought records were there to be broken,” those were the words of Michael Schumacher when quizzed on the possibility of Sebastian Vettel overtaking his long list of Formula One accomplishments. By and large, we’d agree – but there are some sporting records which it’s hard to see ever being matched or broken.
In basketball, no-one will ever surpass Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point game. In cricket, Sir Don Bradman’s batting average of 99.4 will never be beaten. In baseball, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hit streak will stand forever as the longest in history. Football is adored for its unpredictability, so some might take issue with claiming any feat, record or achievement will ‘never be beaten’. Yet some accomplishments and feats are simply too remarkable, too incredible and too improbable that one can say with some confidence that they are unlikely to ever be beaten.
The long history of football means there have been many outstanding feats set, so we start with a few honourable mentions. Mario De Castro’s average of 1.95 goals per game, Messi scoring in 21 consecutive games, Derby’s Premier League points tally of just 11, Robert Lewandowski’s 5 goals in 9 minutes and Ian Ashbee’s captaining of Hull City through all four English footballing divisions just missed out. Here are our top seven footballing feats that will never be repeated:
7. Just Fontaine’s 13 Goals at the 1958 World Cup
Just Fontaine of France – 1958
To gauge whether a record is likely to be beaten, one ought to look at the record-setters nearest competitors. Just Fontaine’s record of 13 goals at a single World Cup is one which is incredibly unlikely to ever be beaten. In the last 11 World Cups, taking us back to 1974, the nearest anyone has come to that is Ronaldo in 2002 with 8 goals. In the entire history of the tournament only two other players have hit double figures; Sandor Kocsis and Gerd Muller, in 1954 and 1970 respectively. Fontaine’s 13 goals came in 6 games, scoring 3 against Paraguay, 2 against Yugoslavia, 1 against Scotland, 2 against Northern Ireland, 1 against Brazil and 4 against West Germany.
6. 131 Goals by a Goalkeeper
With 131 goals, Rogerio Ceni is by far the highest scoring goalkeeper of all time. He scored 69 goals from the penalty spot, 61 from free-kicks and 1 from open play, the former two are both also world records for a goalkeeper. Having played 1,257 games for Sao Paolo, Ceni also holds the record for the most appearances for a single club in world football, in a career which spanned an incredible 25 years, 24 of which were spent at Sao Paolo. The goal-scoring goalkeeper also won 16 caps for Brazil, going to two World Cups.
5. 1950 World Cup Attendance
Uruguayan Juan ‘Pepe’ Schiaffino scores the first goal against Brazil, during the1950 World Cup
Given that the popularity of football continues to rise and that new stadiums are always being built, it may seem natural that attendances continue to rise. However, the truth is, with modern safety laws, it is highly unlikely an attendance close to the one at the Maracana for the 1950 World Cup final will ever be seen again. The only way to do so while still complying with modern safety laws would be to build a stadium so large many spectators would barely be able to see what was happening on the pitch, something that is unlikely to ever happen. The attendance for Brazil vs Uruguay that day included 173,830 paying fans and an estimated 30,000 non-paying spectators.
4. 104 League Games Unbeaten
Romanian giants Steaua București hold the record for the most league games unbeaten in European or world football, and no other record even comes close. The club went unbeaten in the league from June 1986 to September 1989, totaling an incredible 104 games. In that time, the club won 4 league titles, 3 domestic cups, one European Cup, one UEFA Super Cup and reached another European Cup final, losing only to the great AC Milan led by Arrigo Sacchi. The great București team of that era were led by their talisman and arguably the greatest Romanian footballer of all time, Gheorghe Hagi.
To put Steaua’s record in perspective, the second longest unbeaten league run is held by Sheriff of Moldova, who went unbeaten in 63 games, whilst Celtic’s current unbeaten league run stands at 40 games.
3. Messi’s 71 Goals in a Season & 91 Goals in a Calendar Year
The records have tumbled one after another in the extraordinary career of Lionel Messi. Quite possibly the finest player to ever play the game, Messi has scored 592 goals in his career to date, and 73 of them came in a single season, whilst 91 came in a calendar year. Both are world records for the sport, and both were previously held by German forward Gerd Muller over 40 years earlier, who scored 67 goals in a single season and 85 in a calendar year. Beating tallies which had stood for almost half a century, Cristiano Ronaldo with 59 is the nearest anyone has come to Messi’s record in recent years, some way of his record of 91, suggesting it may never be beaten.
2. Top Flight Football in England at 50
The only English footballer to have been knighted whilst an active player, Sir Stanley Matthews is one of the greatest footballers of all time. Way ahead of his time, Matthews adhered to an incredibly strict diet and training program, and was even mocked for being a teetotal vegetarian. There was a method to his madness however, as the Stoke City and Blackpool ace played top flight football until the age of 50, the oldest player to do so, and he is also the oldest ever England international, playing his last game for his country at the age of 42, although he still claims he had a good couple of years left in him when he hung up his boots. Given the pace of the modern game, it is unlikely a 50-year-old (particularly outfield) will play top flight football in such a competitive country ever again.
1. Five Consecutive European Cup/Champions League Titles
Real Madrid’s President Florentino Perez poses during an AFP interview in the trophy room of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, on November 27, 2016
When the European Cup first began in the 1950s, one team was entirely dominant, and that team was Real Madrid. In the Champions League era, Real became the first team to record back-to-back competition wins this year, showing just how difficult it is to win the prestigious competition. Before that, you had to go back to AC Milan more than a quarter of a century ago for the last team to win consecutive European Cups. However, between 1955 and 1960, Real Madrid won an incredible 5 straight European Cups. Given the fierce competition in the tournament today, it would be virtually impossible for a team to repeat that feat.
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